{"id":10794,"date":"2019-01-26T00:37:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T00:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:31:00","slug":"government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a breakthrough<\/a> between the White House and lawmakers, both chambers of Congress today passed legislation without floor votes that will reopen the federal government for three weeks while lawmakers continue negotiations over border security funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation funds federal agencies that do not already have full-year appropriations until Feb. 15, at which point Congress will have to pass additional funding legislation or send the government into another shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile reopening the government is long overdue, I will not celebrate a temporary reprieve to a politically motivated crisis that has left many federal employees in anguish over how to pay their bills, feed their families, and keep a roof over their heads,\u201d said American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the next three weeks, Congress must pass full-year appropriations for all government agencies, as well as legislation to make all affected federal employees whole. We are also urging Congress to act to prevent the use of shutdowns from ever occurring again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to President Donald Trump, the approximately 800,000 federal employees impacted by the shutdown will receive back pay as soon as possible, and the Office of Management and Budget has instructed agencies to prioritize the restoration of pay and benefits in their reopening procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to congressional sources, once the president signs the appropriations legislation, OPM will publish a memo instructing agencies to restore back pay, though it will likely take several days for employees to begin receiving that pay. The speed at which employees are paid will likely depend on the size of the agency, the size of the agency\u2019s payroll department and how many checks that agency needs to disperse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, for workers to be paid on a Friday, their pay must be processed by Tuesday, but it was unclear Friday on Capitol Hill what would happen in this case \u2014 both because the length of this shutdown was unprecedented and because of the size of the payments involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unions for federal workers urged the administration to speed the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet the checks out, now. Federal employees haven\u2019t been paid in more than a month and mortgage and rent are due next week,\u201d National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon said in a statement. \u201cThey shouldn\u2019t have to wait a minute longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, contractors that have been out of work for the duration of the shutdown have no guarantee of recouping the paychecks lost while their contracts were on hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Senators introduced legislation Jan. 16 that would provide compensation<\/a> for low-wage contractors impacted by the shutdown, though members of Congress have said that even this would not be enough to mitigate the economic impacts the shutdown has had on the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have some legislation \u2014 it may not be perfect, but would look at trying to make at least partially whole those low-paid federal contractors, folks under $50,000, who if we don\u2019t find a way to take care of them will come out of this more than one month of their annual salary with nothing at all to show for it,\u201d said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., on the Senate floor Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if we were to move toward low-priced contractors, low-salary contractors \u2014 that the solution that we announced today and hopefully we sign later today \u2014 it really will do nothing to take care of the small businesses whose customers were furloughed or working without pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warner, whose state is home to thousands of federal employees and contractors, said it was unclear when federal workers will be paid. In a hallway interview, he speculated the federal employees wouldn\u2019t mind if the White House brought payroll workers in Friday night to ensure everyone quickly received their paychecks, including back pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there is no guarantee the White House and Congress will resolve the impasse and prevent another shutdown when the temporary funding bill lapses, lawmakers from both parties expressed optimism on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They attributed Friday\u2019s breakthrough to a variety of factors combined, including the bipartisan group of senators who took to the Senate floor Thursday to demand an end to the shutdown, the cumulative pain of federal workers and in airport delays on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith each passing day, the harm of the shutdown became more evident and more painful,\u201d said Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins. \u201cI think it was helpful that 16 of us went to the Senate floor yesterday \u2014 eight Democrats and eight Republicans \u2014 and said, \u2018Enough is enough. We have to have a compromise and we have to reopen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, told reporters Friday that she was worried about the new deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are issues that have evaded a solution for years now, and so we\u2019ve got an imperative to figure it out, and figure it out quickly,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s any mystery what the component pieces may be, but I for one am not interested in anything that would lead to another impasse, another day of uncertainty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of Trump\u2019s announcement, House Homeland Security Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., predicted that the agency he oversees, the Department of Homeland Security, will be dealing with the effects of the shutdown for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has become clear from hearing from those on the front lines that even if the shutdown ended today, we will be dealing with the consequences of it for months \u2014 or even years \u2014 to come,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cQuite simply, the shutdown is undermining the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s ability to secure the homeland and protect the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Partnership for Public Service President and CEO Max Stier, agencies will still have to contend with the work required to get the government operating at the level it was before the shutdown:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is also critical for agency leaders to re-engage their employees, seek to boost morale and help them set priorities to tackle the huge backlog of work. There has been much harm done by our political leaders and it could take months or even years to undo the damage caused by this shutdown.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[104,34,65,106,31,15,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2853,3334],"class_list":["post-10794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acquisition-update","category-breaking-news","category-budget","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EZKSLE5GMZBDXP4M43JZEAV27Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/management\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nGovernment to reopen for now, with back pay top priority - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federal Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessie Bur, Joe Gould\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessie Bur, Joe Gould\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 1045,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Acquisition and Management Update\",\n\t \"Breaking News\",\n\t \"Budget\",\n\t \"Daily Brief\",\n\t \"Home\",\n\t \"Inside the Agencies\",\n\t \"Newsletters\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority - Federal Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/26\\\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Budget\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/budget\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"budget\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Federal Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority - Federal Times","description":"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority","og_description":"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/","og_site_name":"Federal Times","article_published_time":"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00","author":"Jessie Bur, Joe Gould","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessie Bur, Joe Gould","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority","datePublished":"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/"},"wordCount":1045,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Acquisition and Management Update","Breaking News","Budget","Daily Brief","Home","Inside the Agencies","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/","name":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority - Federal Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-26T00:37:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:31:00+00:00","description":"The longest government shutdown in American history is over, after Congress passed legislation to temporarily fund government for the next three weeks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/01\/26\/government-to-reopen-for-now-with-back-pay-top-priority\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Budget","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/","ad_zone":"budget"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Government to reopen for now, with back pay top priority"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","name":"Federal Times","description":"Federal Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization","name":"Federal Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","caption":"Federal Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Federal Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18352456050531.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10803,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10794\/revisions\/10803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10794"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}